May 16, 2015

Shopping: pillow inserts

Our brand new throw pillows!

Here you go. You’re welcome! What am I talking about? We hate the throw pillows that came with our sofa. We love our sofa. Hate the pillows. They are mean little things with pokey quills popping out all over. You can’t see them and only know they’re there after they’ve taken some of your blood. Unzip the pillow cover, and there are feathers everywhere. Pulling the pillow out of the cover would be a catastrophic mess. I can just see it.

This leads me back to why you’re thanking me for I know there are other pokey-haters out there too! After spending weeks researching different kinds of pillow fills from polyester fill to buckwheat seeds, whether to consider pillow protectors and what's the right size to buy, I decided to share what I purchased.

First, here’s a shout out to the reason why we needed new inserts: Les Indiennes, hand block-printed organic cotton textiles, which uses old-school kalamkari Indian methods to create uber soft fabrics. My favorite part is that they lay out the cotton in India’s intense sun to bleach before printing.

A chance reading about the shop’s outlet in Hudson, New York on a Friday night led to a spontaneous 3-hour family daytrip to the historic town Saturday morning. Outlet items are located at the back of the shop, and my haul included euro shams, pillowcases, dessert plates and four throw pillow covers.

Check out the textiles and plates we bought at Les Indiennes. I love the rich red and ditsy pattern.

Throw pillow inserts: I loved the idea of the therapeutic qualities of buckwheat pillows but they’re expensive and the process of making my own was beyond my mental capabilities at that point. At the end, Garnet Hill’s inserts were natural, dense and soft with 95% white goose feathers and 5% white goose down with little to no reports of pokey quills. Hooray! And at $18 each for a 18”x18" square, the price was right.

Pillow protectors: I decided to go for an extra layer of protection between me and the sharp quills, and also the down for hypoallergenic reasons. Protectors keep errant feather escapees contained. Pottery Barn’s cotton selection come zippered and are machine washable. Their 230-thread count 18”x18” size is $8 each.

The general rule for sizing is to buy inserts 1" - 2” larger than the pillowcase. It makes for a plumper and firmer throw pillow.